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George H. W. Bush On His 91st Birthday!

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George H. W. Bush, the 41st President, celebrates today his 91st birthday.

Often ignored since he left office, other than his two sons’ electoral victories as Governors of Texas and Florida; George W. Bush’s Presidency; and Jeb Bush’s nascent campaign for President, to be announced on June 15; the elder Bush looks so much better than his two sons at this point of history.

Bush followed Ronald Reagan and preceded Bill Clinton, two men of great oratorical ability and charismatic presence. Both of them are rated higher in Presidential polls of experts and scholars.

However, a new public opinion poll, rating popularity of former living Presidents, places the elder Bush and Bill Clinton in a statistical tie at 64 percent popularity, an amazing fact when one considers that the elder Bush lost reelection to Bill Clinton in 1992, with the second worst defeat of a sitting President for reelection in American history, only surpassing William Howard Taft in the 1912 election.

But as a former President ages, popularity rising is not unusual, and particularly after a President dies, as with Harry Truman.

More books are being published on George H. W. Bush in the last couple of years, and the volume of publication will continue to grow, as history looks kinder on the elder Bush.

We have had more than 22 years pass since his Presidency, and the elder Bush is remembered for:

Winning the Persian Gulf War against Saddam Hussein, and leading the United Nations coalition brilliantly.

Promoting the reunification of Germany, despite many people’s fears that Germany would become a threat to European stability.

Bringing about a dignified end to the Cold War in 1991, by dealing with the falling Mikhail Gorbachev, and his successor Boris Yeltsin in a way that promoted calm in the world.

Advocating a civil rights law for the disabled and handicapped, the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Demonstrating courage in promoting a tax increase after pledging not to raise taxes, as the national and international situation in 1990 required such action.

If Pat Buchanan had not opposed the elder Bush in the Republican primaries in 1992; and if Ross Perot had not run so strongly as an Independent candidate in the Presidential Election of 1992, winning 19 percent of the vote, the elder Bush would have won a second term, and we would not have had Bill or Hillary Clinton as important figures in American history and politics.

So at least, on his 91st Birthday, the elder Bush can feel happy that he has survived long enough to see his popularity soar to 64 percent; to see one son serve as President for eight years, and another son about to try to set a record of three members of the same family serve in the White House.

Imagine if Jeb Bush, somehow, were to become President in 2017. and the elder Bush were to survive another nineteen plus months, and former First Lady Barbara Bush, who just became 90 on June 8, were also to survive!

They would witness two sons becoming President of the United States, surpassing John Adams, who only saw one son, John Quincy Adams, make it to the White House.

Even if one does not like or admire the Bush Family, that would be some magnificent achievement, which would have to be celebrated!

Who Should Have Been President? The Following List Of 12 Great Political Leaders

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A high percentage of the 43 American Presidents are looked upon as having been inferior, disappointing, and in some cases, clearly unqualified to be President.

And then there is a list of both Presidential nominees, and also Presidential seekers, who are looked upon as those who SHOULD have been President, but never were.

First the list, which numbers 12,and then an explanation of each case.

Henry Clay
Daniel Webster
William Seward
Samuel Tilden
Charles Evans Hughes
Robert LaFollette Sr
Adlai Stevenson
Hubert Humphrey
Nelson Rockefeller
Bob Dole
Al Gore
Hillary Clinton

Two of the above (Clay and Webster) were Whigs; five of the above (Seward, Hughes, LaFollette, Sr., Rockefeller, and Dole) were Republicans; and the remaining five of the above (Tilden, Stevenson, Humphrey, Gore, and Clinton) were Democrats.

Henry Clay ran three times for President, in 1824, 1832, and 1844, and is regarded by many experts as the absolutely most outstanding Senator in all of American history, who made many contributions in government, including being Speaker of the House, an influential Senator (Kentucky) , and Secretary of State.

Daniel Webster is the other most outstanding Senator (Massachusetts) before the Civil War, and was seen as being as much of a statesman as Clay, and also served as Secretary of State.

William Seward lost the Presidential nomination to Abraham Lincoln, but was considered the leading Republican in his time as a Senator from New York, and also served as Secretary of State.

Samuel Tilden was the reform Governor of New York, who lost the Presidency despite a major lead, which in percentage, was greater than Al Gore, the other person who won the popular vote, but lost the election, and never became President.

Charles Evans Hughes was a giant figure in American government, as Progressive Governor of New York; Associate Justice of the Supreme Court; Secretary of State; and then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Robert LaFollette Sr. was “Mr. Progressive”, the best state Governor (Wisconsin) in all of American history, and rated one of the top five Senators of all time, and actually tied Henry Clay in a scholarly poll as the best US Senator ever in American history.

Adlai Stevenson was a brilliant intellectual, who could not defeat President Eisenhower, but was regarded as an “egghead”, and served as Ambassador to the United Nations, years after he served as a Governor of Illinois.

Hubert Humphrey was one of the greatest Senators (Minnesota) to grace the upper chamber in American history, and introduced much of what became the Great Society, and he served as Vice President of the United States.

Nelson Rockefeller never was nominated for President, but was seen as a very capable and wise four term Governor of New York, one of the best in American history, served as Vice President, and having the potential to have been a great President, but could not gain the support of his party.

Bob Dole was a masterful Senator (Kansas) with a long career in Congress, and the ability to get things done, and regarded as the second greatest Senate Majority Leader, after Lyndon Johnson, in American history.

Al Gore won the Presidency in popular votes by more than a half million, but lost the contested state of Florida in a Supreme Court vote, based on party line, rather than the principle that the Court had no right to intervene in the state of Florida’s Supreme Court judgments. Gore served as Vice President, after service in the House of Representatives and the US Senate (Tennessee).

Hillary Clinton was one of the most outstanding First Ladies; Senator from New York; Secretary of State; and now had the opportunity, potentially, to come off this list, IF she is able to win the Presidency in 2016 and become our first woman President.

The nation would have been much better if any or all of these 12 political figures had gained the opportunity to serve in the White House!

Eleven Years Since Greatest Blunder In Modern American History: The Iraq War!

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Eleven years ago today, America went to war in Iraq on the false premise that there were weapons of mass destruction there, which did not exist!

It is clear that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld KNEW that fact, but they convinced Colin Powell to speak before the United Nations on a lie that he was not privy to, took advantage of his far greater stature than any of them had!

The Iraq War led to 4,400 American dead, and over 30,000 wounded, with many losing limbs or part of their skull, and many having mental and emotional trauma which continues today!

It led to the longest war in American history, except for the Afghanistan War, which was put on the back burner, and still goes on today, making both wars total failures, but another 2,000 killed in that war.

It did not create a stable Iraq, but killed at least many hundreds of thousands in Iraq, if not a million or more.

We spent a lot of treasure, helping to double the national debt under the Bush-Cheney regime.

We allowed ourselves to engage in war with Iraq, when Iran was the much bigger threat, and remains so in 2014.

We also gave the excuse for Vladamir Putin of Russia to invade and take over Crimea, as allowed under international law, because, after all, we had claimed the right to invade a sovereign nation in a war of choice, a preemptive war, making us no better than past aggressors, who attacked without a direct provocation.

Many feel that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld are international outlaws, and it is clear that if it were possible to arrest them, they could be tried on human rights abuse at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, the Netherlands!

Of course, that will not happen in reality, but this is not something that should be overlooked as an example of what happens when the wrong people are put into power, particularly with the reality that George W. Bush did not win the popular vote in the Presidential Election of 2000, but won the court case that was decided on party line vote in the Supreme Court, a majority which had been picked by Republican Presidents!

History will not judge the Bush Presidency well, and no matter what the Republican Party of 2014 does to sweep the past under the rug, the truth will win out, and it will not be pretty!

Misogyny And The Republican Party’s Doom, Short Term And Long Term

Ronald 5 Comments

The Republican Party has displayed, again and again, its total lack of respect for women in so many ways!

Not only have they worked to deny women their basic human rights to their own bodies, and had candidates and office holders who debate what rape is.

Not only have they now worked in Texas and other southern states to deny women who are married or divorced the ability to vote by making an issue of their use of maiden names and married names that do not match on IDs, so as to take away the right to vote. Such is the case with a Texas judge recently challenged because she has an ID with her middle name but has also used her married name on other documents and in public, and is well known, and yet is being told they do not match, so she should be denied the right to vote, although never challenged for the past half century! And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

And not only these examples above, but also the total lack of respect the Republicans have for women who serve in the Obama Administration. So we have had nasty attacks on the honesty and competence of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former United Nations Ambassador and now National Security Adviser Susan Rice; and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

These three women have devoted their lives to public service in magnificent ways, and are suffering from misogynistic attacks of a party only too willing to attack, while not being embarrassed by the asinine behavior of such women, including Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, but not limited just to those two women!

The GOP is dooming its future, as already, the majority of women vote Democratic, so continuation of their misogynistic attitudes is a losing strategy, short term and long term!

Two Days Of Great Challenge Face Barack Obama: Government Shutdown And Israel

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With the likelihood of a government shutdown imminent on Tuesday, President Barack Obama faces two of the most challenging days he has ever faced in his four plus years in the White House!

A government shutdown could lead to economic chaos and the return of the Great Recession of 2008 and since.

But additionally, there is likely to be fireworks on Monday between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is coming to the United Nations to give a speech, warning of the growing threat of a nuclear Iran, and having made clear his discontent that the President made a phone call to Iran’s President as he was leaving New York to return to Teheran.

This first direct contact between Iran and the United States since the Iranian Revolution was a bold move, but not well received in the American Jewish community and in Israel’s governing circles, as well as many Israeli citizens.

This President has not had a break from crisis, and a lot is riding on the success of Obama’s goals of resolving the economic crisis with the Republicans in Congress, and to move ahead on Mideast peace without alienating Israel and the Jewish community at home!

Should Barack Obama Agree To UN Meeting With Iranian President Hassan Rouhani? YES!

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Iran’s new President, Hassan Rouhani, will be attending the fall session of the United Nations, along with other world leaders, a tradition at the end of each September.

Iran has been on a course to develop nuclear weapons, by every measure we have been able to gather through intelligence information.

But sanctions by the international community have had an effect on Iran’s economy, and the decision of the population to vote in a President who is looking for reconciliation with the West, makes one hopeful that Iran could reject nuclear weapons development, and just wish to develop nuclear power for peaceful uses.

Both the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the new President Rouhani have, in recent days, stated that they will never develop nuclear weapons, and want to end the state of tension between Iran and the US and other western nations.

The fact that they have said this does not mean we should, automatically, drop our guard on their possible threat to Israel, other Middle Eastern nations, and the entire world.

But with the new, conciliatory language, it seems worthwhile for President Obama, who will be attending the UN session later this week, to agree to meet with Rouhani, and start exploration of the possibility of negotiations and diplomacy, rather than continue a possible buildup toward military engagement.

Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, warns against trusting Rouhani and the Iranian government, and certainly, Obama and other Western leaders need to pursue engagement with Iran in a cautious manner.

But it is worth a try to see if Rouhani and Khamenei mean to have a serious discussion, as after all, the US always held summit meetings with Soviet leaders, so what is the danger in discussion, while keeping the possibility of the use of force in the background, if it is shown that Iran’s government is lying and is untrustworthy?

Any possibility of avoiding military force and war is worth a try, so hopefully, Obama will meet with Rouhani and explore the idea, without any pledge to drop possible military action in the future, if that, regretfully, becomes necessary!

Two Political Giants Pass From The Scene: Lindy Boggs And William Scranton!

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In just the past couple of days, two Political Giants, one a Democrat and a woman, the other a man and a Republican, have passed from the scene, and their deaths remind us of the fact that there have been quality politicians in both parties, but the number who are such is rapidly declining!

Former Louisiana Congresswoman Lindy Boggs, the widow of former Congressman Hale Boggs, and the mother of ABC journalist Cokie Roberts, died at the age of 97. One of the greatest women ever to serve in Congress, she won her husband’s seat after he was tragically killed in a small plane over Alaska, with his body never being found, in 1972. Lindy Boggs served almost 18 years in her Louisiana House district, winning the last few times as the only white Representative in Congress to represent a majority black district. She served as the Chairwoman of the 1976 Democratic National Convention which nominated Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. She was outspoken on the subject of civil rights, and was the first woman to serve in Congress from her state. Boggs also served as Ambassador to the Vatican, the Holy See, in the second term of Bill Clinton’s Presidency from 1997-2001.

And her daughter, Cokie Roberts, became a well known, outstanding journalist on ABC for a few decades, adding much to the profession of television journalism!

Lindy Boggs was truly an elegant lady, and a woman who stands out as one of the best ever to serve in the halls of Congress!

Just today, news came of the death of former Republican Governor of Pennsylvania, William Scranton at age 96, who became very prominent as a one term Governor from 1963-1967, after serving one term in the House of Representatives. A progressive or liberal Republican, and proud of that appellation, Scranton ran a last ditch Presidential campaign against fellow Republican, Senator Barry Goldwater, attempting to stop his nomination for President in 1964.

Scranton came from a wealthy family which had founded Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was an inheritor of a fortune made in iron, coal, and railroads. He brought about education reform, including the community college system in his state. He also served as UN Ambassador in 1976, the last year of the Gerald Ford Presidency, and also headed a committee to investigate the Kent State University and Jackson State College tragedies which occurred after the US invasion of Cambodia in 1970 under President Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War! He also was asked by Nixon to be his Secretary of State, but declined, and was considered to be Gerald Ford’s Vice Presidential running mate in 1976, but passed by for Senator Bob Dole of Kansas!

The loss of two principled, decent politicians, such as Lindy Boggs and William Scranton, is a loss to American politics, and we can only hope for more people entering politics with the kind of stature and dignity that these two individuals personified!

60th Anniversary Of Korean War Truce Ending “Forgotten War”!

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On luly 27, 1953, after three years and one month of a undeclared war, the Korean conflict, which killed 33,000 American soldiers, ended in a truce, and the establishment of a demilitarized zone, and an uneasy relationship between the Republic of South Korea and Communist North Korea, a tense atmosphere which has continued, and has come close to the beginning of a new conflict.

35,000 American troops remain in what has become the prosperous, democratic South Korea, expecting a major war at any time, and the United Nations, which led the war under American supervision and that of about 18 other nations, continues to have a role in the on-off negotiations to bring about a much hoped for, but unlikely, permanent peace treaty between the two Koreas.

Meanwhile, Communist North Korea remains the most closed society in the world, with the population being brutalized by three generations of a family that has brought the nation down to dire poverty and total fear, a true totalitarian society on the level of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Korea remains a war that most Americans do not have a clue about, and most could not find Korea on a map, due to ignorance of our history after World War II, and the much greater controversies that swirled around the later Vietnam War.

Korea remains even today the most likely place for another major American commitment of troops, if South Korea is ever attacked by North Korea, whether conventional war or nuclear attack, since North Korea has been testing nuclear weapons and defying the world community, under the leadership of grandson Kim Jong Un, successor to Kim Il Sung, and Kim Jong Il!

The Korean War Memorial in Washington DC is a reminder of the sacrifices of our troops and the other nations which fought for the South Korean survival, and South Korea recovered from massive loss of life and property, and is a proud example of democracy today!

Only four American veterans of the Korean War serve in Congress, and none from World War II, as we see Congress today with pompous members who talk about war, and yet, in most cases, have never experienced military service. It is easy to send others to war, while one sits and pontificates and is ready to send others to fight!

Let us hope that no more blood is shed in the Korean peninsula, and that rationality and common sense rules!

Appointment Of Susan Rice To Be National Security Adviser A Great Move!

Ronald 32 Comments

President Obama has selected UN Ambassador Susan Rice to be his National Security Adviser, a great move for our foreign policy team!

Rice was shabbily treated in the aftermath of the Benghazi, Libya tragedy, and lost the opportunity to be considered for the position of Secretary of State, due to Republican attacks, denigrating her qualifications which are exceptional.

But now, the position of National Security Adviser is her new position, one which does not require Senate confirmation, and it is not only a good move, but also an appropriate smack in the face of the Republican critics, who cannot stop Rice’s elevation.

Obama’s foreign policy and national security team is now complete, with Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and American foreign policy is in good hands for the next four years!

World Health Day: Hypertension The Silent Killer Worldwide

Ronald 8 Comments

Today marks World Health Day, and commemorates the United Nations World Health Organization, with attention being paid to the dangers of hypertension as a world wide danger to mankind’s health, a silent killer!

One of my readers and supporters Maggie Mitchell, is going to present an informed article on this topic, as she is a long time top rated and experienced Nurse, who I highly respect for her expertise. I hope all my readers will enjoy what she presents below, and I thank her for her contribution to the blog on this matter!